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28 March 2024

Sharjah blaze leaves 15,000 tyres still smouldering

Published
By Bindu Suresh Rai and Majorie van Leijen

Four days after a huge fire gutted five warehouses in Sharjah Industrial Area 11, the site of Street 2 is still cordoned off with smoke billowing out of the large amount of debris.

An overwhelming stench of burnt tyres accompanies the smouldering debris that continues to flame up at intervals, according to Civil Defence, which has officials on the ground, taming the burning debris of the large tyre storage area.

A container next to the warehouses also caught fire earlier, with flames brought under control today, according to eyewitnesses.

“The actual fire has been extinguished. But we are currently in the process of cooling down the burnt down area,” said Colonel Khalid Bin Kanoon, Acting Director-General of Sharjah Civil Defence.

He continued: “It is normal that the debris keeps flaming up because we are dealing with tyres.

“The area contained about 15,000 tyres and these are very difficult to cool down. It will take us another 2-3 days to cool the whole area down.”

A Sharjah Civil Defence worker at the site said: “We received a phone call around 7am on Saturday by the warehouse watchman. We have been containing the situation since, but have asked people to stay away from the area due to the smoke and the smell.”

A Pakistani worker from a neighbouring warehouse said: “The fire keeps acting up, perhaps because of the wind. They have been battling the blaze for four days now but the smell is enough to keep most of us indoors.”

According to another worker in the area, the electricity in the entire street has been disconnected by Sewa as a precautionary measure.

The fire erupted on Saturday early morning and continued to burn until late Sunday afternoon, when Civil Defence forces brought it under control.

At the onset of the blaze, one firefighter was injured due to the strength of the fire, but he has since recovered, said a Civil Defence source. There were no other injuries reported.

Currently, the road leading towards the warehouses has been cordoned off, while surrounding areas remains accessible. However, traffic movement continues to be slow on Sharjah Ring Road.

Civil Defence also confirmed the warehouses that were gutted mostly contained tyres, while other material was found among the debris too, such as paper, plastic, etc.

“We have managed to save some of the material,” Bin Kanoon added.

The company that owns the warehouses will respond to media queries soon, it has confirmed.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation by Sharjah Police.

Three fires in 10 days

The Industrial Area 11 blaze is the third such fire that has erupted in the surrounding neighbourhood, with a tyre warehouse mere minutes away still smouldering 10 days later.

“The fire broke out at out warehouse on Sunday May 4. Now 10 days later, there is still smoke coming from the debris. The Civil Defence officials come once every day to douse it,” a worker at the blackened-out site in Industrial Area 3 told Emirates 24|7.

The worker remains on site in the heat, guiding customers to the warehouse’s neighbouring office while they wait for the smoke to die down before restoration work can commence.

He added: “The damage has been estimated at Dh6 million. We still have no idea how the fire broke out. All we know is that at 4am one of the workers staying onsite sounded the alarm and called Civil Defence.

“We were lucky, everyone managed to escape the blaze without injuries.”

Meanwhile, on May 7, another fire broke out in the same area, in a shoes and clothing warehouse at about 9am.

No casualties were reported in both fires.